In celebration of National Library Day and ahead of National Library Week, the new film features the TikTok personality and librarian who helps out ‘Arthur’ when he loses his library card.
GBH Kids announced that the iconic Peabody and Emmy Award-winning PBS KIDS animated series Arthur has launched a video short featuring Mychal Threets, the well-known TikTok personality and award-winning librarian dedicated to promoting the joy of public libraries. The short Arthur Meets Mychal the Librarian was released in celebration of National Library Day and ahead of National Library Week.
“As a library kid, I’d always enjoyed ‘Arthur Read’ books by Marc Brown and watching Arthur on PBS KIDS as the characters always felt like my friends,” said Mychal Threets. “Getting to work with the GBH Kids team was a dream come true and a phenomenal experience as I have a chance to speak directly to a character that has meant so much to me and help spread library joy.”
In the short video, Arthur misplaces his library card and worries that he won’t be able to check out any more books. Luckily, Elwood City’s substitute librarian, Mychal Threets, is here to help Arthur work through his stress and find his library card.
The short is available to stream on PBS KIDS, pbskids.org, PBS KIDS YouTube, and Arthur Read YouTube, or watch it right here on AWN.
GBH Kids and Hero4Hire Creative produced the short.
“Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card” has been a familiar catchphrase for Arthur fans since it debuted as part of a musical episode in 1998, and it has also been at the heart of Arthur’s mission to inspire kids to read and to go to the library.
GBH Kids senior executive producer Carol Greenwald said, “We love Mychal’s message about spreading the joy and hope that can be found in public libraries, and we were thrilled to partner with him on this short.”
In 2020, GBH Kids created the Arthur digital short video series to give parents and families tools to talk about current events and other important themes for today's kids. With 10 video shorts as part of this growing digital library, topics range from standing up for what’s right to the importance of voting to finding a trusted adult when having feelings of anxiety. Over the next several years, GBH Kids will produce additional new shorts to address timely topics families will be facing, as well as everyday Elwood City adventures.
Arthur content is available to fans with more than 250 episodes, digital video shorts, and movie specials available in rotation streaming free on PBS KIDS (no subscription required), PBS KIDS Video app, with games available on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Game app, as well as The Arthur Podcast available on PBS KIDS, PBS KIDS YouTube, Arthur Read YouTube and all major podcast streaming platforms.
Source: GBH Kids
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
